John Singleton buys Elanora Hotel at East Gosford

Ad man John Singleton has sealed the deal on the purchase of ‘one of the best pubs on the Central Coast’ — and the current licensee can’t wait to see what the new owner does with the venue.

Millionaire businessman John Singleton has purchased the Elanora Hotel at East Gosford, with Damien Cusick set to stay on as licensee. Picture: Sue Graham

• Missing Gorokan teen found
• Major plan to boost affordable housing stocks

AD man John Singleton has sealed the deal on “bloody good pub” the Elanora Hotel in East Gosford.

The John Singleton Group has purchased the much loved Elly, for an as yet undisclosed price, and will officially take over the 7667sq m premises on June 25.

“It’s a bloody good pub,” Mr Singleton told the Express Advocate.

“It’s right in the middle of Gosford, and the food is really good. When we drink around here we come to the Elanora.

The Elanora Hotel has been bought by the John Singleton Group

“It’s a family owned bar. We have had our eye on it for a while and thought we’d buy it if it ever came up.”

He said there may be “very minor changes” but generally the popular hotel, which has been part of East Gosford since 1957, would stay the same.

Licensee Damien Cusick, whose father Malcolm Cusick bought the hotel almost 51 years ago, will stay on in his current role at the hotel, having worked there since finishing school.

“I have been here for 29 years and my family has owned the pub for 51 years,” Mr Cusick said.

“It’s a very emotional decision for us as a family.

“Two days before settlement will make 51 years to the day. My father bought it in June 1968 and owned the Gosford Hotel before here.”

The Elanora Hotel, East Gosford in 1959. Picture: Australian National University.

He said over the years, they had made improvements to the pub to become a “focal point of the community”.

“It’s very difficult to sell it but to have someone like John Singleton and his group on board is great,” he said.

“We can’t wait to see what they do with it. All the staff plan to stay on and are excited to be working with John. He met with the staff this morning … he is someone who calls a spade a spade. It’s exciting times.”

Aerial view of the much loved Elanora Hotel

John Singleton Group chief executive officer Monique Anderson said when they found out the hotel was for sale “we jumped in”.

“It’s one of the best pubs on the coast, we all come here as customers,” she said.

“It will be business as usual, we are not planning to change anything. We love it, and having Damien stay on as licensee is exciting.”

The off-market transaction was managed by brokerage agency HTL Property.

“The landmark asset drew significant interest from both the hotel and development buyer markets; the strong result is vote of confidence in the region and deserved of such a unique hospitality land holding,” HTL Property national director Dan Dragicevich said.

The Bon Pavilion opened two weeks ago today. Picture: Sue Graham

Mr Singleton was not only in town to seal the deal on the Elanora, but to also check in two weeks after the opening of The Bon Pavilion underneath his development Bonython Tower.

“It’s just extraordinary,” he said.

“From 6am-7am in the morning the coffee shop fills up and then at lunch time it’s filling up, as well as dinner. It’s exactly what we hoped for.”

The millionaire has always been a passionate advocate for breathing life back into Gosford.

“It has the same population as the Gold Coast but not one decent restaurant,” he said.

“It is going to happen for Gosford, and I think it will start with smaller restaurants gathering around us (Bonython Tower), with people seeing the need for an Indian, Thai or Chinese restaurant.”

Ravello by Bonython. Picture: Central Coast real estate.

Meanwhile, his Group’s development Ravello, on the border of Gosford and Point Frederick, is about to be built with demolition works completed.

It will feature eight storeys with 40 penthouse style residences.